“There on the poplars - Aravim - we hung up our lyres (Psalms 137:2).” In view of the bitter experience of the exile, especially prior to Ezekiel’s revelations, there would have been ample reason to destroy their harps since they had nothing about which to...
“Oh my soul ...
“They drowned and slaughtered Cohanim and Leviim who once maintained the tiers of my Temple platform. When, in the valley of Hamath, my Cohanim were murdered...
[caption id="attachment_543" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Apple Orchard"][/caption]The black and white photograph of a tree covered in snow is magnificent. It is even more powerful than a color picture. The stark contrast between the light and dark allows me to experience the chill of the snow. I...
[caption id="attachment_5864" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Tisha B'Av Prayers"][/caption]Ashrei: Singing to Heal: Singing so We Can Sing More: “Now the spirit of God had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from God tormented him. Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from the Lord is...
[caption id="attachment_5795" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="Mourning"][/caption]“After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side [of the stone] and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together--but David wept the most. Jonathan said...
[caption id="attachment_5864" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Tisha B'Av Prayers"][/caption]Hodu: Travels With The Ark 1) The Ark Leads The Way “So they set out from the mountain of God and traveled for three days. The Ark of the covenant of God went before them during those three days to find...
[caption id="attachment_5854" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Story of the Jewish People"][/caption]Ours, is a story that already resonates throughout the world. Less than three years after the Holocaust, we were a nation reborn, fighting for our survival, winning, and building a dynamic country against all odds. We sing...
[caption id="attachment_584" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Arch of Titus"][/caption]“They sent the children away to the land of Uz in three ships.” The Talmud tells a horrifying story of three ships sent to Rome by Vespasian filled with four hundred Jewish boys and girls to be used for immoral...
[caption id="attachment_5851" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Collecting Sparks"][/caption]Rabbi Yosef of Coucy reminds us that we were sent into exile for two purposes: 1) To plant seeds of God’s Light everywhere in the world, to become, “A light unto the nations.” 2) To collect the lost souls of...
[/caption]What is our vision for what we will do when we leave this exile? We will look back and realize, just as did King David, that all our struggles in exile served to make us independent and stronger. We declare what we will do with that...
[caption id="attachment_5859" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Destruction of Temple"][/caption]The Kabbalists use different verses to focus on the Name of God during the Mussaf – Additional prayer – on Rosh Chodesh – The New Month. They use the following verse on Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av: ”Moses and the...
[caption id="attachment_5845" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Showered With Blessings"][/caption]Why do we sing that we are about to begin a new stage in our existence? Why do we declare our commitment to always sing as the Servants of God? Why do we sing of our eternal hope that...